Faith in South Sudan

On Friday 19th May, CMSI hosted an event entitled Faith In South Sudan: The Church’s Response To Crisis. It was an evening of learning, sharing and praying together – and it served as a timely reminder of the bonds that unite us across the global Body of Christ.

Our special guest for the evening was Rt Rev Anthony Poggo, who is well known to CMSI supporters as a friend, partner and a frequent visitor to Ireland. Formerly the bishop of Kajo-Keji Diocese in South Sudan, Bishop Anthony is now based in Lambeth as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs.

On Friday evening, Bishop Anthony shared something of the background to the conflict and crisis in South Sudan, with political problems – a failing of democracy following independence – preceding tribal and ethnic problems. He also highlighted the important role the Church has played in seeking to champion and facilitate peace, reconciliation and unity. He remarked that such peace-building needs to be inclusive; rather than isolating those who oppose us, we have to engage with them…

You can’t dialogue with your friends. You dialogue with your enemy. If you’re talking to yourself, that’s not dialogue, that’s monologue. So it’s important to take a more inclusive process.

Following Bishop Anthony’s address, CMSI’s Partnership Coordinator for South Sudan, Linda Abwa conducted a brief interview with Mama Jane, Bishop Anthony’s wife, who shared some perspectives on family life and the role of the Mothers’ Union in South Sudan.

The event also included input from a panel, comprising Bishop Anthony, CMSI’s Jenny Smyth, Thomas McClean (Logos Ministries International) and Brian Glanville (Delany Parish, Co. Wicklow). They each shared some of their own experiences of South Sudan and offered perspectives on how best to support the Church in the midst of the current crisis. Recurring themes included:

✦ Respecting and responding to the priorities and requests of the local Church
✦ Investing in leadership training within the Church
✦ Supporting peace and reconciliation programmes
✦ Advocating at a political level in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

Linda Abwa shared an update on CMSI’s response – including over £50,000 of support that’s been sent to our partners since summer 2016. Linda also highlighted the success of the recent prayer days for South Sudan and encouraged people to host their own prayer events in their churches.

Comments

We never lost hope, the graciouse God, the gift of peace will hear our prayers one day. The evildoesers will one day repentant and confused their sin they have committed to their fellow human. We thanks everyone who have contributed all the necessary assitant to the people of South Sudan. We thanks those who have dedicated their night and day praying for our beloved nation, May the Lord grant you more blessings.
And may the almight God bless our belove bishop Anthony for his generosity work.

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